Bear markets are for building, as the crypto adage says. In some cases, bear markets are also for rebranding. A few mining companies are using the quiet (and depressing) months of the ongoing bear market to announce corporate rebrands. Here’s a quick look at which company names have changed.
Riot Platforms
Formerly known as Riot Blockchain, one of the world’s largest publicly traded bitcoin mining companies announced its rebranding to Riot Platforms on January 3. The change was made to reflect its “increasingly diversified business operations,” according to the company. One day after its rename, the newly christened Riot Platforms also announced its December production updates, including 659 BTC mined in the last month of 2022 – a 55% increase from the same period one year prior.
This is not the first rename in Riot Platform’s history, however. Bitcoin mining historians will remember that, in February 2018, the company – then known for developing veterinary product patents – renamed from Bioptix to Riot Blockchain as it plunged into the crypto mining business.
Applied Digital
Dallas-based Applied Digital (A.D.) also decided to use the bear market environment as a renaming opportunity. In mid August 2022, the company announced its plans to switch from “Applied Blockchain” to “Applied Digital.” At its core, the company focuses on cryptocurrency mining. But in a press release about the renaming, A.D. said, “While Applied Blockchain continues to be a premier provider of digital infrastructure for many cryptocurrency mining operations, it is important for the Company to distinguish that its next-generation datacenters support many other high-performance compute applications [emphasis added].”
In June 2021, A.D. went through another name change. Shedding the name “Applied Science Products,” the company became “Applied Blockchain.” This prior name change was made in an effort to uplist its common stock from a pink market to a venture market, according to a press release.
Bit Origin
In May 2022, another new mining entrant announced its intention to switch names. Formerly known as China Xiangtai Foods Co., this New York-based publicly traded company rebranded to Bit Origin. Self-described as “an emerging growth company engaged in crypto mining business with diversified expansion strategy,” Bit Origin’s new name became effective May 18, 2022.
And yes, the company really does mine bitcoin. According to its November 2022 production updates, Bit Origin mined 8.59 BTC and operated 3,190 machines in Georgia and Indiana. December 2022 updates have not been published.
Other Bitcoin mining rebrands
Of course, no discussion of crypto corporate rebrandings would be complete without mentioning the most iconic renaming of all time: when Long Island Ice Tea renamed to Long Blockchain in December 2017. The pivot was advertised as a giant leap into the bitcoin mining sector. But three years later, the company was delisted by the S.E.C.
Who knows, maybe a few more mining companies will decide to rebrand before the bitcoin market recovers. Meanwhile, veteran miners should try not to deadname these rebranded entities.
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
